HIGHLIGHTS
With guidance from Liberation Route Europe, VVV (Dutch Tourist Information), KWBN (Dutch Walking League), battlefield tour guides, and the Canadian Embassy in The Netherlands, IOFF highlights include:
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A 60 km pilgrimage (over 3 days) along routes taken by the 1st, 2nd, & 3rd Canadian Divisions
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Guidance from professional battlefield guides
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Flower Ceremony at Groesbeek Cemetery
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Candlelight Vigil
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Nijmegen Sunset March
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NL Remembrance Day Ceremony at Holten Cemetery
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Liberation Day Party in Almen
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Apeldoorn Liberation Festivities
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Canadian Camp at the Royal Family’s Palace (Het Loo)
PARTNERS
#3367728
Verstraete Travel & Cruises
Verstraete Travel & Cruises is responsible for all travel arrangements associated with IOFF’s itinerary.
For over 25 years, Verstraete Travel & Cruises has been the exclusive Canadian agency for Welcome Again Veterans, a foundation responsible for memorial tours in The Netherlands for Canadian war veterans and their families. Verstraete Travel & Cruises managed all travel arrangements for WAV’s 50th anniversary of the Liberation of The Netherlands (1995) and every major 5-year anniversary since then.
Verstraete Travel & Cruises is registered with TICO and is affiliated with BDL Group Travel in The Netherlands.
Hotel Landgoed Ehzerwold
Located in Almen, Hotel Landgoed Ehzerwold is a beautiful estate with a rich history. Opened as a hospital in 1911, it was converted to a sanitorium in 1920. During WWII, fierce battles were fought here, battles we’ll learn more about as we re-live the events of The Liberation.
Now a hotel, Ehzerwold will be IOFF’s barracks, complete with military décor, Dutch cuisine, and themed evening entertainment. Take a tour!
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Fletcher Welness-Hotel Stadspark Bergen op Zoom
Fletcher Wellness-Hotel Stadspark is located on the Binnenschelde in Bergen op Zoom in North Brabant. Here you can take a lovely walk on the boulevard and swim, canoe and windsurf at the recreational lake.
The hotel offers you all the peace and quiet you need, while the bustling city centre, the historic centre of Bergen op Zoom and the Zeeland beaches are just a short distance away.
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Van de Valk Hotels Cuijk - Nijmegen
This hotel, just south of Nijmegen, is ideally located near many important IOFF points of interest, including Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery and the battlefield area associated with the Battle of the Reichswald.
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Battlefield Discovery
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Based in The Netherlands, Battlefield Discovery will bring The Liberation story to life for us. Using official historical documents, personal accounts of people who were involved, and local knowledge of the surroundings as they were at the time, Battlefield’s guides will take us back in time to better understand the military operations and battles of The Liberation.
We’ll travel through the Reichwald Forest in Germany, visiting the sites of Operation Veritable and Blockbuster. Together, we’ll walk routes taken by the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Canadian Divisions, beginning in Megchelen (near Emmerich) and finishing in Apeldoorn, as we learn about Operation Cannonshot.
With Battlefield Discovery, you’ll take a tour back in time, walk in your fathers’ footsteps, and learn about his past through the story of The Liberation.
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Marvelis Design Bureau
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Based in The Netherlands, Marvelis Design Bureau specializes in graphic design and art direction. Founded ten years ago, Marvelis designs a wide range of print media including: logos, stationery, (re)branding, magazines, brochures, posters, flyers, POS in-store materials, packaging and digital retouching of images. Marvelis also designs social media including: branded kits, Call To Action (CTA) and promotional visuals.
Orange Films
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Based in Utrecht, The Netherlands, Orange Films is our media partner. A mini documentary about IOFF has been filmed in Canada and produced by a team of enthusiastic young Dutch talents.
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